February 16, 2017 - 12:13pm
Can over proofed loaf be saved?
Hi I'm brand new to making sourdough bread. I had been fermenting some dough in the refrigerator took it out this morning and set it out on the counter thinking it would be fine this time of year. I got home checked my dough and it won't hold any shape, sticks to everything and is very runny. From what I've learned so far I'm guessing it is very over proofed. My question is there a way to save this loaf or should I just toss it out and consider it part of the learning curve? If it makes a difference it is high hydration, no knead, long fermentation, no commercial yeast. I have made this once before and it turned out beautifully so I know the problem is my lack of experience and not the recipe. Thanks for your help!
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It is just like a starter discard now. Don't toss it - use it.
As Dabrownman says - use it.
Hope we're in time!
P.s. there is also an option to add more flour (and salt in the correct ratio) until you get a semblance of a dough then shape and go straight into final proofing which will be quick. You might be able to get a loaf of bread out of it.
Thank you for your suggestions. I do still have it :) so I will do something with it.
If I combine over-proofed dough with equal volumes of dried bread cubes, could I bake out a loaf? I might have to mist and toss the bread crumbs to raise the hydration a little bit but it sounds like it might work. Might be more interesting if the cubes were one type of bread and the sd another, shooting for maximum contrast.
Since I am new and still learning I am curious do you think dried bread crumbs would work better than just flour?
made using dried bread cubes and it is made moist with egg and water and then rolled or tossed with flour. They are then compacted into balls and boiled to cook the raw dough parts. This makes for very tasty and absorbent bread dumplings. The fixed crumb of the cubes makes the air pockets and the dough glue holds everything together. I don't think a spent sourdough would trap much air or keep out water with boiling but baking might do the job and the released steam would soften the pre-gelatanized bread during the process. Those cubes would provide the structure of the crumb, the framework. I wouldn't expect the loaf to rise much but may end up adding more cubes depending on the feel of the mixture. I think I will know when I get that far. The idea would be to coat the cubes/crumbs and get them to stick to one another. Then bake them into one mass. Might lead to some kind of sculpturing too. :=)
Better than flour? Right now I don't know. I have added fresh dough to spent dough and got bread too. It works. Usually with a little less water than the spent recipe. I will let you know.